Better than free: Verizon Galaxy Nexus available via Amazon for a penny with $40 free credit

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If you thought Verizon’s deal from last week, dropping the on-contract price of the Galaxy Nexus to $99, was great, wait till you hear about the new special offer for the “pure Google” device. Not only are Amazon and Big Red now offering the GNex for free with a two-year contract, but they are also throwing in a free $40 credit to sweeten the deal even more.

And sweet it is, considering exactly how cool and snappy the Nexus still is, even compared with high-end smartphones released in the last few months. Powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, the GNex might not exactly have the same oomph as, say, the S3, but it does come with a beautiful 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, 4G LTE connectivity, 32 GB of internal memory, and Android 4.0 ICS. Not to mention the Jelly Bean update is almost certainly right around the corner.

Amazon and Verizon’s special deal for the Nexus won’t last long (none of the good things in life do), so if you passed on the phone before, now’s the best time to buy it. And when I say now, I actually mean now, because the offer will expire tomorrow, on August 2.

To get the free $40 credit, you will have to sign up for a new two-year carrier agreement with Big Red and go for one of the carrier’s “Share Everything” plans. These give you unlimited talk time, unlimited text, and shareable data with up to nine other devices beside your primary one (in this case your newly acquired Nexus). The credit will help you get a discount on your bill, and doesn’t apply to existing customers upgrading a current line.

If for some reason the Nexus is not your top priority right now, but you are still on the hunt for a new phone, Verizon and Amazon offer the same free $40 credit deal for a bunch of other devices. The Galaxy S3 leads the pack, but you also might be interested in the HTC Rezound 4G, LG Lucid 4G, Droid Razr 4G, or HTC Rhyme. All these and many more come with a $40 bill discount until August 2, but only the Rhyme and Lucid are available for that same penny as the GNex.

Anyone thinking of taking advantage of Big Red’s limited offer? If so, are you going to buy the Nexus or another of those discounted phones?